Leading Off (1/31/14)

Mr. Ranger Retires. Michael Young, the Texas Rangers all-time leader in most career offensive categories, will officially quit this afternoon after 13 years in the majors. Twelve of those were spent in Arlington, and it was strange in 2013 to see him in the uniforms of the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers (he was traded midseason). Young, 37, told the Morning News he declined offers of a part-time role with the Dodgers or a larger role with the Milwaukee Brewers this coming season in favor of spending more time with his family. “I’m a Ranger,” he said. “I always have been and always will be. I started here. I grew up here. These fans know me. It was my privilege to play here. I was here for maybe the most dramatic time in the team’s history. I’m a Ranger. It’s simple as that.”

Frisco Mom May Have Admitted to Killing 10-Year-Old Son. Police say that when they asked Pallavi Dhawan if she killed the child she nodded her head. The boy was found wrapped up to his neck in cloth, with plastic bags on his body, in a bathtub. But the family’s attorney is disputing the claim that Dhawan confessed. She’s been charged with first-degree murder.

Deion Sanders Claims Tirade Was For the Kids. Afterthe Observer obtained a recording of him threatening the co-founder of his Prime Prep Academy charter school, the former NFL great explained to WFAA that he was upset at the time to learn that D.L. Wallace was paying himself a $130,000 salary while the school’s students were failing. Sanders didn’t, apparently, address the fact that on the tape he suggested to Wallace that he should be paid more than the $40,000 he got, since the school received its charter due to Deion’s connections. Sanders led the effort to remove Wallace from heading up the school, which is under investigation by the Texas Education Agency.